Permanent railway bed



March 7, 1950 G. H. WELLS 2,499,939

PERMANENT RAILWAY BED Filed Sept. 27. 1946 .2 n I. v"

Patented Mar. 7,. 1959 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PERMANENT RAILWAY BED Guy H. Wells, Dayton, Ohio Applicationfieptember 27, 1946, Serial No. 699,756

1 Claim.

This invention pertains to improvements in railway track construction and the mode of installation, and more particularly to permanent road bed construction and the preservation and protection thereof against deteriorating influences of vibration and weather.

The failures of railroad track construction and difiiculties of maintenance thereof arise primarily from the effect of weather and especially moisture upon the foundation and terrain over which the road bed extends, and the destructive effect of vibration incident to the weight and speed of passing trafiic, separately or conjointly.

The track failure is probably due as much or more to entrance of water into the track bed causing softening of the foundation and ballast material, and the subsequent freezing and consequent expansion thereof resulting in fracture and disintegration of the road bed, than it is due to impact, shock and vibration of passing traffic.

Many but ineffectual attempts have heretofore been made to overcome such difficulties by use of increased weights of track rails, more frequent and effective ballast attention of section gangs, by providing deeper foundations of crushed stone in lieu of cinder or gravel ballast material, utilization of better cross ties, longer fish plates, the use of tie plates, rail anchors, connecting rods between rails, and improved spikes or screws and other rail attachment devices. None of these attempts were availing nor solved the fundamental problem of more or less constant railway I tudinally in the direction of traflic travel. Up

and down deflection of the rails relative to the ties results in loosening of the spikes and rail joints, and even bodily movement of the track structure including the cross ties and the attached rails.

Such weaknesses and defects of the road bed construction are aggravated by weather conditions. Rain and snow permeates the road bed material of crushed rock, gravel or cinder ballast. In winter weather the saturated road bed foundation freezes and expands, breaking down the foundation, and upon thawing softens the material causing it to become displaced under pressure of passing traffic.

To overcome the prevailing dimculties and structural problems, and afiord a practical'solution therefor, the object of the present invention is to provide a permanent railway track construction having an impervious convexly contoured protective surface stratum and continuing inclined lateral aprons affording drainage of surface water, protecting the sub-stratum of foundation and ballast material from permeation and precluding freezing with resultant expansion, rupture and disintegration of the road bed foundation and superstructure.

A further'object of the invention is to provide an integral broad monolithic supporting structure of transverse bridge-like form, having continuous parallel spaced supporting piers deeply embedded in the foundation body in interlocking relation therewith anchoring the structure against lateral drift, and distributing the load of the structure and passing traffic uniformly over a relative wide area, thus preventing sag or dip incident to softened terrain.

A further object of the invention is to provide vibration absorbing rail supports embedded in the monolithic superstructure which will not only insulate the structure from deleterious effect of traflic induced vibration, but will minimize the tendency to longitudinal creep of the rails.

A further object of the invention is to enable railway equipment to attain higher speeds with greater safety and ease of travel, permanence of construction requiring less track and road bed maintenance, minimum fuel consumption, and elimination of cross bonding to maintain the rail gauge.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railway track construction having the advantageous structural features and the inherent meritorious characteristics and the mode of installation accomplishing the purposes and desirable results herein set forth.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification, the invention intended to be protected by Letters Patent consists of the features of construction, the parts and combinations thereof, and the mode of operation, or their equivalents, as hereinafter described or illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is illustrated the preferred but not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a portion of a railway track construction embodying the present invention on line ll of Fig. 3, in a plane coincident with the installation of opposite rail supports.

Figure 2 is a view taken along the lines 2-2 of Figure 3 showing in section a transverse reinforcing member embedded in the concrete superstructure but omitting any showing of the rails and their supporting members,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a fragmentary portion of the completed track construction, illustrating the relative disposition of the transverse reinforcement and the resilient rail supporting members.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the resilient rail supporting units partly broken away to disclose its component portions.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, I indicates the parallel spaced track rails which are attached at longitudinally spaced intervals to resilient rail supports 2 embedded in a concrete superstructure 3 which is disposed in bridging relation over a sub-stratum or foundation 4 of well compacted crushed stone.

The concrete superstructure 3 is formed with a convex top surface which is relatively thick or deep throughout its central area extending to the outer sides of the track rails I. Beyond the track rails the lateral extensions of the concrete superstructure 3 decreases in depth, thus forming inclined aprons 5 which tend to more rapidly drain surface water away from the track.

Beneath the track rails the concrete superstructure 3 includes comparatively deep integral piers 6 which are embedded in the compacted crushed stone foundation 4. The embedded concrete sleeper portions or piers 6 interlock with adjacent portions of the compacted foundation 4 of ballast material which rises between the piers 6 in a wide elevated ridge 1, while outside the piers 6 the foundation material rises in lateral abutments 8. The construction is such that the convex superstructure 3 including the piers 6, is securely anchored against side shifting movement. The concrete superstructure 3 is continuous longitudinally of the road bed, but is provided at spaced intervals with transverse expansion joints 9.

The rail supports 2 are separately embedded in the concrete superstructure at spaced intervals and substantially in registry with the piers and extending laterally therebeyond. Each comprises a pair of parallel spaced angle bars ID to the inturned flanges of which is welded a bottom plate H having upturned ends I2, which together with the standing flanges of the angle bars l0 define a pan-like receptacle, beyond the ends l2 of which the angle bars protrude.

Seated within the receptacle thus formed is a block l3 of creosoted wood, preferably white oak, beneath which is interposed a stratum l4 of resilient material, which serves to absorb or dampen vibration of passing trailic. It is to be understood that the block 13 does not necessarily have to be made of wood but may be made of any other suitable material.

Merely for illustrative purposes, but with no intent to limit the detail structure of the invention, its scope or application, the angle bars II! are preferably though not necessarily inch and a half by two inch conventional angle bars, approximately twenty-eight inches long. The wood block I3 is approximately ten inches wide, sixteen inches in length, and approximately four inches deep. The terminally flanged bottom plate II and receptacle formed thereby in combination with the angle bars 56 are of commensurate size to receive the blocl; E3. The stratum of resilient vibration absorbent m-ztc which the block rests is preferably, out no; JCS!- sarily, asphaltum, having a melting point of about 220 degrees deposited in the receptacle to a depth of approximately one-half inch. Other resilient material may be employed in lieu of asphaltum. It should not, however, be such that it will not compact and lose its resiliency under traific fluctuations, nor have such low melting point as to ooze from the receptacle about the block in hot weather. The block 13 is sized to fit the receptacle sufiiciently closely to prevent displacement of the asphalt under pressure. Strips 5 of packing material are preferablj-J d sad about the margins of the receptacle L'Qfu block I3 to prevent escap The asphalt or other vibra .mping material deposit when poured into the an or receptacle should be of such consistency as to prevent voids and afford a uniformly yielding resistance. The bottom of the block 13 is preferably, although not necessarily, slightly concave, whereby the asphalt deposit, after cooling, will be slightly deeper at its center than adjacent to its margins and will thus conform to the slightly concave bottom surface of the block 13. The wood block is inserted into the pan or receptacle under pressure sufficient to effect uniform contact be tween the under side of the block 13 and the surface of the asphalt stratum while semi-fluid, which upon cooling maintains a permanently tight seal or union about the margins of the receptacle. The block is equipped with especially designed rail clips i6 which exert clamping pressure over the base margins'of the rails I. Clamp bolts I! extend through registering holes in the block l3 and the bottom plate ll of the receptacle to draw the clips 15 tight upon the rail base. The bolts [1 fit the holes in the block l3 and, the bottom plate H sufficiently closely to be effectively sealed by the asphalt deposit intermediate the block 13 and the plate II.

Transversely embedded at longitudinally spaced intervals in the concrete superstructure 3 intermediate succeeding rail supports 2 are reinforcement members l8 which are independent of the rails l and of their supports 2. Thus, no electrical bonding or interconnection of the opposite rails I or their supports are effected. The rails may thus be utilized as isolated portions of an electrical signal or power distribution system. When finally installed in the concrete superstructure 3, the rail supports 2 maintain th intermediate portions of the rails l slightly elevated above the surface of the concrete to enable free drainage of water from between the rails laterally over the inclined aprons 5.

The concrete deposit is tamped or vibrated while being deposited to assure uniform compaction and density, and the top surface is struck off and troweled to convex form, including the lateral inclined aprons 5, to facilitate thorough drainage. By utilizing the compacted and solidified foundation, either newly constructed or previously used, as a form on and within which to mold the concrete superstructure 3, the foundation and superstructure are caused to exactly and completely conform one to the other without voids or recesses and the rails and track rests are uniformly supported throughout. The monolithic character of the concrete superstructure 3 distributes the load over a wide area and obviates difficulty due to localized soft spots in the terrain. By resiliently supporting the rails at closely spaced intervals in slightly elevated relation above the surface of the concrete 3, not only is lateral drainage facilitated beneath the rails and traffic vibration compensated, but the concrete superstructure 3 is relieved of shock and vibration, thus minimizing breakage and cracking of the concrete surface.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its forms, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosed comprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the invention into effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A railway track construction, including a road bed foundation, a unitary concrete rail support disposed in bridging relation over the road bed foundation and continuous longitudinally thereof except for transverse expansion joints at spaced intervals, comprising parallel spaced piers embedded in the foundation material to securely anchor the support in said foundation, a top portion integrally and transversely interconnecting the piers and extending laterally therebeyond in overlapping contact relation with the road bed material both between and laterally beyond the piers, parallel rows of independent resilient rail supports embedded in the concrete top portion substantially in registry with the piers and extending laterally therebeyond, said supports each comprising angle bars and a bottom plate secured to said bars, the ends of said plate being upturned to form in conjunction with said angle bars a receptacle, resilient material in said receptacle, means including packing material for sealing said resilient material within said receptacle, a block seated within said receptacle above said resilient material and means to securely support a rail on said block, transverse reinforcement bars embedded in the concrete top portion at longitudinally spaced intervals, said spaced piers resisting lateral movement of the rails and their supports and the transversely extending top portion providing protection for the underlying road bed material from moisture penetration and a surface for lateral drainage of moisture.

GUY H. WELLS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 338,382 Barber Mar. 23, 1886 964,190 Snelling July 12,1910

1,009,020 Brown Nov. 14, 1911 1,250,871 Hemingway Dec. 18, 1917 1,301,064 Kratzer Apr. 15, 1919 1,350,760 Wilson Aug. 24, 1920 1,792,620 Wells Feb. 17, 1931 

